Dental clamp

ABSTRACT

A dental clamp that includes a pair of resiliently biased members adapted to grip a tooth therebetween wherein one of said members is shaped generally to conform to the contour of the face of a tooth and the other of said members being provided with a universally mounted or swiveled pressure pad to engage the face of the tooth being filled to hold the filling material in place in said tooth face until the filling is set.

nite States Patent Inventor Loel R. Wurl 2113 Woodland Drive, Haperville, Ga.

July 25, 1969 Dec. 21, 1971 Appl. No. Filed Patented DENTAL CLAMP 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl Int. Cl Field of Search 32/63 A6lc 5/12 32/40, 63,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l,66l,068 2/1928 Gaillard 32/63 3,423,835 1/1969 Mattern t. 32/63 Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Attorney-Newton, Hopkins & Ormsby ABSTRACT: A dental clamp that includes a pair of resiliently biased members adapted to grip a tooth therebetween wherein one of said members is shaped generally to conform to the contour of the face of a tooth and the other of said members being provided with a universally mounted or swiveled pressure pad to engage the face of the tooth being filled to hold the filling material in place in said tooth face until the filling is set.

PATENTED BEBE] an Mam/a diff 28 AUTO/W195 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has been a long standing problem in dentistry to provide suitable means for holding filling material in a cavity in the vertical faces of teeth until the material has set sufficiently to become self supporting.

The general procedure in filling such a cavity is to initially prepare the cavity to receive suitable filling material such as silicate, plastic or almalgam. Once the filling material is in place a thin plastic matrix is placed over the filling material and held there by the dentist or by clamp means until the material sets.

It is understandably inconvenient for the dentist to hold the filling in place with his fingers since he could be performing additional operations while the filling is setting. Therefore, it has become the practice to use clamps of various types.

The presently available clamps are subject to certain disadvantages. It is most important that the outer surface of the filling be flush with and conform to the surface of the tooth, for hygenic as well as cosmetic purposes. The most common objection to known clamps is that they cannot hold the filling or matrix in place in a manner to accomplish this satisfactorily.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION The dental clamp of the present invention provides a pair of members that are resiliently biased toward each other for engaging a tooth after a dentist has removed the decayed portion, prepared the cavity to receive the filling, and placed the filling material within the prepared cavity so that the filling is given an opportunity to set. The clamp includes a universally mounted or swiveled pressure pad that may be selectively removed and discarded after use. The tooth engaging face of the pad is shaped to generally conform to the outer side contour of a tooth. The pad may be made of plastic material having thin edges that may be individually trimmed by the dentist to fit over a particular filling.

It is an object of the invention to provide a clamp which will hold a filling in place in a manner to result in a filling which is flush with and conforms to the face of a tooth.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a clamp which will hold a filling in place with or without the use of a separate matrix element.

These and other objects may be accomplished by the illustrative embodiment which is described below and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 11 is a prospective view of a portion of a person's mouth with a matrix in position and the clamp in open position prior to being placed on the tooth;

FIG. 2 is a prospective view of a portion of a persons mouth with the clamp and matrix in position on a tooth;

FIG. 3 is a view of the clamp in position on a tooth partially in section;

FIG. 4, partially in section, is a view of the clamp in position on a tooth with the pressure pad functioning without a separate matrix; and,

FIG. 5 is a view of the pressure pad in section removed from its universal mounting.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Referring now more specifically to the drawing, the clamp is comprises a first L-shaped lever 16 carrying a pressure pad I13. The levers l2 and 16 are pivotally mounted on a pin 20 extending through flanges 22 and 24 extending from levers l2 and 16 respectively. A coil spring 26 surrounds the pin 20 and has a first leg 28 bearing against the lever l2 and a second leg 30 hearing against the lever 16.

In this manner the spring 26 normally urges the tooth engaging aw 14 towards the ressure pad 118. The jaw 14 is provided wr an arcuate face 2 to present means to firmly grip the tooth.

The pressure pad 18 preferably is formed of a plastic material which is somewhat resilient. The pressure pad 118 is illustrated as having a rectangular tooth engaging portion the edge of which, indicated by reference numeral 34 is substantially thinner than the remainder of the pressure pad body. A socket 36 is provided centrally of the pressure pad 118 and is adapted to receive a ball 38 mounted on a stem 40 extending from the lever 16. In this manner the pressure pad 18 is mounted for universal movement relative to the lever 116.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that the clamp l0 will firmly hold a matrix 42, if used, in position over filling material 44 in a tooth 46 as best illustrated in FIG. 3. Because of its universal mounting, the pressure pad 13 will bear against the matrix 42 with equal pressure over the entire area.

A further advantage of the clamp 10 is that the pressure pad may be easily removed and discarded after use. Due to the resiliency of the pressure pad material, it may be pulled easily from its ball mounting. Thus, a new sterile pad may be utilized each time the clamp is used.

Additionally, the clamp of the present invention is adapted to be used without requiring a separate matrix. If desired, the edges of the pressure pad 118 may be feathered as indicated at 48 in FIG. 4 and the pressure pad ltll placed directly against the filling material 44. When the filling has set the clamp 10 is removed and the pressure pad 18 is pulled from its mounting and is discarded.

From the foregoing it is readily apparent that the invention provides unique means for holding a filling in place.

lclaim:

l. A dental clamp comprising a pair of arms pivotally secured together, one of said arms having a tooth engaging portion, the other arm being provided at a position generally opposite said tooth engaging portion with a rigidly connected stem extending toward said portion, a ball mounted on the end of said stem, and a pressure pad of resilient material having a socket corresponding in shape to the ball and wherein said socket is adapted to resiliently receive said ball and to be universally movable thereabout.

2. A dental clamp, as in claim 1, wherein the pad is formed of a plastic material which may be shaped to a prescribed matrix shape thereby obviating the need for a separate matrix element.

3. A dental clamp, as in claim 2, wherein a spring resiliently urges the arms toward a position bringing the pad and tooth engaging portion together.

4. A dental clamp, as in claim 3, including a matrix element engaging the pad and adapted to engage a tooth.

5. A dental clamp, as in claim 3, wherein the edge portion of the pad is substantially thinner than the central portion which engages the ball. 

1. A dental clamp comprising a pair of arms pivotally secured together, one of said arms having a tooth engaging portion, the other arm being provided at a position generally opposite said tooth engaging portion with a rigidly connected stem extending toward said portion, a ball mounted on the end of said stem, and a pressure pad of resilient material having a socket corresponding in shape to the ball and wherein said socket is adapted to resiliently receive said ball and to be universally movable thereabout.
 2. A dental clamp, as in claim 1, wherein the pad is formed of a plastic material which may be shaped to a prescribed matrix shape thereby obviating the need for a separate matrix element.
 3. A dental clamp, as in claim 2, wherein a spring resiliently urges the arms toward a position bringing the pad and tooth engaging portion together.
 4. A dental clamp, as in claim 3, including a matrix element engaging the pad and adapted to engage a tooth.
 5. A dental clamp, as in claim 3, wherein the edge portion of the pad is substantially thinner than the central portion which engages the ball. 